Hallo, Hi, Hola da spring break

Hello all. I’ve just returned from a weeklong travel extravaganza, full of food, fun and more food. Here is a pictorial timeline of my viaggi to Sweden, Norway and Spain:

It all began on Saturday, March 15, as Kristi and I said farewell to my beloved Roma and embarked via the ever-trustworthy (cough cough … ) Ryanair. Our first stop: Stockholm, Sweden.



We were very happy to finally arrive, after a cab to the Termini, a bus to the Rome Ciampino airport, a three-hour flight to somewhere near Stockholm and another near two-hour bus to the city. After finding a place to sleep and grabbing something to eat, we walked around the city and found the Baltic Sea:




We soon realized that there isn’t too much to do on a Saturday night in Stockholm. Or probably any day in Stockholm for that matter. So we took random pictures with every statue, bench and road sign we could find:






We decided that night to take the first bus to Oslo we could get on the next day (Sunday). But before we headed out, we stopped at a little place called the Taco Bar for lunch, where I gladly consumed the first burrito I have had in more than two months.



After a nearly eight-hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Oslo (to the tune of Of Montreal’s “Oslo in the Summertime.” Even though it was below freezing, I feel the song still fit.)



We stayed the night in what I thought must have been the skeeziest hostel on earth (it resembled a halfway house more than a hotel). Despite the crummy accommodations, it was in a great location, and right down the street from …

… a Lord of the Rings store! I knew I would love Oslo, and this was proof that Norway and I were meant to be.


We ventured up into the mountains surrounding Oslo for cheaper (and far cleaner) accommodations for the rest of our trip. We found the best hostel up in the woods on top of a hill, which I wasted no time in rolling down. I felt it was a sort of vindication for all those times that I could never roll down the hill in front of North Canyon High School, since I was either wearing a dance costume or, you know, in high school. Check out that incline!



The interesting thing about Oslo is that it’s half mountain town (think Flagstaff) and half way-modern, uber-European, metropolitan city. And, of course, it’s part fjord on the Baltic Sea. Here are some extraordinarily beautiful pictures of the Oslo fjord and downtown area:

This is inside the city hall, situated right near the port (pictured above). The inside of the city hall was full of these obscenely cool murals, some painted by native Norwegian Edvard Munch (whom you might recognize from the famous “Scream” painting).

This is a photo for Kim. ANCHOR!

Peace at the Nobel Peace Center. I’ll be returning here some day to collect my Nobel Peace Prize.

After a delicious meal at McDonalds (I know .. sad, right? But it was the only thing we could afford. Oslo is e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e.), we took a public bus to Bigdoy, one of the peninsulas of the Oslo fjord. There, there are many museums, including the Viking museum and the folklore museum. However, we saw none of that. But we did walk around and see lots of pretty scenery (and met several pretty people).







The next day (Tuesday) began with a trip to Oslo University and the National Gallery, where we saw Munch’s “Scream” in person. The Edvard Munch exhibit was one of the coolest exhibitions I’ve ever seen. It was beautiful and full of emotion, which, being an art idiot, is hard for me to recognize. That just shows what an amazing job he did. Here’s my personal rendition of “Scream”:



The rest of the day included a public ferry ride to the islands in the fjord (it was too cold to get out and walk around the islands, so we just went along for the ride), and lots of walking around the city. Here are the highlights:

Weeee!

Rar!

Since Kristi left for the second half of her spring break before the sun rose on Wednesday, and my plane for Spain (wow, that rhymes) didn’t leave until late that night, I had the day to spend alone getting to really know my new love.

I took a public train up the mountain to check out Holmenkollen, the largest ski jump in Europe (which was used in some Olympics sometime in the 50s I think. Or maybe the 70s.) The first thing I saw?

Snow!

But once I looked up off the ground I saw:

Holmenkollen

So I lugged me and my rolly-suitcase up through the woods … which was tough, if you know how out-of-shape I am …My arms still hurt from the expedition. But it was worth it. I shelled out my last 60 kroner to walk through the ski museum, where I learned how snow forms. Awesome. But I also got to ascend the ski jump, which allows an amazing view of Oslo.

I learned this day why they say you should always travel with someone else: It’s a lot harder to take a good picture of yourself than it looks.

That’s one hill I would NOT want to roll down.

My last stop before I had to catch the bus to the airport was the Vigland Park, which hosts more than 200 sculptures. Apparently this is a nude park, though I saw no skin when I was there (most likely due to the freezing temperatures). Part of the lake in the park was even a little frozen over.




I was very sad to leave Oslo. But little did I know that when I FINALLY got to Barcelona, Spain at about 3 a.m. (after a two-hour bus ride, a delayed wait in the airport, a three-hour flight and another hour and a half bus ride), that I would find warm weather, beautiful beaches and incredible food.

My first meal in Spain was a little intense. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to eat it, or if it was going to eat me.

After wrestling with lunch, my Roman roommate Annalis (whom I reconnoitered with at the hostel) and I took a stroll down Calle Las Ramblas all the way to the beach, where I inadvertently sacrificed a sock to the sea.





The best thing about beachside Barcelona was the plethora of insanely strange art. My favorite was:

A lobster!

In an attempt to do something touristy, we took a cable car over the city up to the mountain Montjuic.

Beautiful ...

But scary!

Once atop the mountain, we made friends with the locals!



And took a bus to the Sagrada, an unfinished church.



Take a closer look at the top:

Yes, that’s fruit. Annalis made the comment that it’s kind of like Christ meets Candyland.

Thursday night was a rather crazy one filled with lots of Sangria and new friends. Needless to say, the next morning we were looking for some greasy food to satisfy our munchies, so when we saw a restaurant called Burrito, we were beyond excited. However, they didn’t sell burritos at Burrito. But they did have a fun photo op:



The rest of my time in Spain, more or less, was centered on food. Some of the best meals included:

Chocolate and churros! (The first of several trips)

Sangria

Tapas

More churros

Paella

Even more sangria

In between all this food, we went to the Picasso museum, which was incredible (and magically free), went back to the beach and saw a pretty sweet water fountain show.






After such amazing food, beautiful scenery and great memories, I didn’t think my week could get any better. But in the Girona airport on the way back to Rome, Europe sent me one last incredible surprise …

Peach Smints!!

I didn’t think I would be so happy to return to Rome after such an incredible week, but on the ride back to the city, I felt completely fortunate to be going home … to Rome. I think now I eternally belong to the Eternal City, and I’m never leaving again.